Who is Jonathan Camden?
by cojiesmama
Summary: Do not be deceived by the title. It's a DannyLindsay story. Patience is a virtue! COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Of all the cases he's handled, what Danny Messer hated the most were crimes involving children. Innocent killings, pedophilia, child prostitution. This one is not a far second --- kidnapping.

A six-year old boy, Shane McCollough, was taken in his bed in the middle of the night.

As Danny stood infront of the big white table in the lab, he enumerated in his head the evidence he's gathered so far.

Blood on the bed sheets. It was the victim's. DNA from the bloody sheets matched the DNA from the victim's haircomb recovered on the scene.

Glass from the broken window of the boy's room had blood in it. It wasn't the boy's. No matches on CODIS.

Prints on the window ledge. No names on AFIS but it did come back to three unsolved kidnapping cases in different states, about a year apart:

_Jason Cook, three years old from Anaheim, California was taken in 2003._

_Craig Thomas, four years old from Wichita, Kansas was taken in 2004 ._

_Jonathan Camden, five years old from Bellgrade, Montana was taken in 2005._

Danny closed his eyes. His mind was racing. There were too many questions in his head.

"_Why is he taking these boys and not asking for anything?"_

"_Why were the boys never found?"_

"_How did he target his victims?"_

"_Where is he taking them?"_

Danny took his coat. He picks up his kit in a hurry. "Back to the crime scene" he said.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny walked up to the McCollough's doorstep and paused for a moment. He didn't remember the house to be this huge. Perhaps it looked a lot smaller when there were cops and neighbors and crying parents all over the place.

Crying parents, Danny hated that too. Good parents are so hard to come by these days that when something bad happens to their children that is entirely not their fault, it's more heartbreaking.

The victim's mother, Ella McCollough, was a single mom. She lived with her younger sister Helen who was also Shane's nanny. While all the other parents that Danny's seen were bawling their eyes out, screaming for justice, arguing with the cops, Mrs. McCollough was almost catatonic. She sat there on the doorstep with her sister Helen, silently sobbing, looking at a distance.

Danny remembered her vividly.

As he was about to open the door, a man walks up the pathway. A postman. He was carrying a package.

"I have a package for Ella McCollough" the man said, handing Danny a piece of paper to sign.

"The McCollough's aren't here right now" Danny lifts up the crime scene tape "See? Crime scene tape. You'll have to come back some other day".

"But I have strict instructions to send this to Mrs. McCollough today" the postman said.

Danny finally took notice of him. He was an elderly man, between 50 to 60 years old. His eyes were darting from one side to another. On his shoulder were small shards of glass.

"What's your name, sir?" Danny asked.

"Jerry Schroeder" the man answered, handing him his postman's ID.

"You got glass on your shoulder there, Mr. Schroeder, can you tell me how you got that?" Danny asked, walking towards him. Jerry Schroeder takes a step back.

"Somebody threw a rock in my van" Jerry motioned to his van, showing Danny the broken window. Jerry turns to leave.

"Can you just please make sure Mrs. McCollough gets that package?" Jerry calls out as he goes to his van. Danny doesn't answer.

Danny looks at the package. He takes some red dust from a container and starts to dust the package. A fingerprint comes out. He lifts the print using a transparent film.

Danny watches Jerry Schroeder drive away.


	3. Chapter 3

Sheldon Hawkes runs the print Danny lifted from the package. There was only one set of prints found on the package, which is odd, since it was supposed to have been handled by various post office employees and the sender himself. Therefore Danny assumed that the lone set of prints were Jerry Schroeder's.

Hawkes waited impatiently as the screen before him scrolled different sets of prints.

Match Found.

The prints were a match to the window ledge in Shane McCollough's window.

Which then matches the prints found on the other three kidnapping cases.

_Jason Cook, California._

_Craig Thomas, Kansas._

_Jonathan Camden, Montana._

Danny walks in.

"You have that look on your face" Danny remarked.

"How'd you think to print the postman guy?" Hawkes asked.

"I dunno" Danny answered. "A hunch. Plus I saw broken glass on his shoulder. Never got a chance to lift it, but it might have come from Shane McCollough's glass window".

Hawkes shows Danny the screen.

"His prints matched the prints on the ledge. And the prints on the other three cases".

"Enough for a warrant" Danny remarked. "Thanks Hawkes".


	4. Chapter 4

Two men sat in the interrogation room. One is looking at the other man dead on. The other, avoiding the first man's stares. They sat there is cold silence for a few minutes.

Danny takes out a case file and shows the picture of Shane McCollough to the suspect, Jerry Schroeder.

"You know this boy?" Danny asked him.

"I've seen him" Jerry answered.

"He was taken from his bed" Danny continued "Kidnapper left his prints on the window's ledge. Your prints."

"Mrs. McCollough's cat got caught up in a tree, I climbed through the window, helped her get it down" Jerry said.

"We didn't find any evidence of a cat, Mr. Schroeder" Danny answered. "Stop lying to me".

Danny takes out three other case folders.

"How about these boys, do you know them?" Danny enumerates the names of the pictures in each case folder "Jason Cook. Craig Thomas. Jonathan Camden"

Jerry just sits there, not talking.

"No" Jerry finally says.

"Your prints were found in three other crime scenes, Jerry. In three other states. California, Kansas and Montana" Danny has raised his voice. "You took these boys from their beds, Mr. Schroeder. Where are they?"

Just then Jerry clutches his chest. His eyes wide. He couldn't breathe. He passes out. Danny hurried to his side and felt for a pulse. He was alive.

"I need a medic" Danny shouts in the hall.


	5. Chapter 5

Danny looks outside the hospital window as nurses and doctors inserted tubes into Jerry Schroeder's body. Hawkes walks up to him.

"Will he live?" Hawkes asked.

"I don't know yet" Danny answers. He notices the case folders that Hawkes has in his hands. "What you got there?"

"I took the liberty of looking through the three other kidnappings" Hawkes says "Jason Cook's and Craig Thomas' case came out dry, just prints. But Jonathan Camden's case had a little extra --- DNA." Hawkes hands him the case file.

Danny reads the report. "Hair found on the bed. If we match it to Jerry Schroeder, and the blood on the glass window, that places him inside both Shane McCollough's and Jonathan Camden's room. We can nail him!"

"What's our next step?" Hawkes asked.

"Contact Montana CSI" Danny answered. "And Jonathan Camden's parents would want to hear this".

Danny reaches for his phone and dials a number.

"Hey Adam…. I need you to search missing persons" Danny talks on his cellphone "Yeah, Jonathan Camden from Bellgrade, Montana. I need to know the names of his parents….."

Danny and Hawkes stood there in silence.

"You're kidding….." Danny finally says, the look of shock on his face.

"What's going on?" Hawkes asked.

"Alright. Thanks Adam" Danny turns to Hawkes "I need you to stay here with Jerry Schroeder. When he opens his eyes, call me" Danny runs off.

"Danny!" Hawkes called out.


	6. Chapter 6

Mac Taylor sits in his office in deep thought. Opposite him is Danny Messer. The two just exchange quick glances. Danny shakes his head and buries his face in his hands.

In a few minutes, Lindsay Monroe walks in. She sees the serious faces before her.

"I got your page, what's up?" Lindsay asked.

"Sit down, Lindsay" Mac said.

Lindsay reluctantly sits and eyes Danny. Danny tries to look at her but quickly avoids her gaze.

"Danny's the lead CSI in the Shane McCollough case, you've probably heard" Mac began.

"Seven-year old boy kidnapped in his bed." Lindsay answered.

"We found prints on the window's ledge. Came back as the neighborhood postman. Jerry Schroeder" Danny narrated.

Both men look at her, waiting for her reaction.

"Am I supposed to know that name?" Lindsay said, giving them an awkward smile.

"The same prints were a match to three other kidnap cases of three other boys, all out of state" Mac continued. He shows each case folder to Lindsay as he calls out the names.

"Jason Cook, California….. Craig Thomas, Kansas…."

Mac looks at Danny as he hands Lindsay the last folder.

"Jonathan Camden, Montana".

Lindsay held the last case folder and runs her finger on the young boy's picture. Her hands start to shake.

"You have this man in custody?" Lindsay asks, her voice trembling.

"He's in the hospital" Mac answered. "But he's not going anywhere"

"Which?" Lindsay asked.

"New York Presbyterian" Danny said, almost in a whisper.

Lindsay stood up quickly and headed for the door. Danny blocked her way and held her firmly on both arms. Mac looked on.

"I need to see him" Lindsay said "Let go of me, damn it" she shouted at Danny.

"Lindsay…." Danny said in a soft voice.

"Get out of my way, Danny!" Lindsay tried to push him away but Danny only held her tighter. Lindsay looks up. Her eyes meet Danny's. Lindsay stopped struggling.

"That man took my boy" Lindsay said, breaking down in tears "That man took my son."


	7. Chapter 7

Mac and Danny now flanked Lindsay as they sat on the couch, Lindsay drinking a glass of water and then holding the empty glass in her hands. She couldn't stop crying.

"We need you to have your head on straight" Mac says, his voice strict yet concerned. "So we can bring this man to justice and we can find those boys"

Danny takes the glass from Lindsay's hand. Lindsay looks at him. "He has Nathan" she whispers to Danny.

"Look at me" Mac says, making Lindsay turn towards him. "I know this is cruel for me to say but you have to snap out of it. We need to know what you know about your son's case so we could find him".

Lindsay closes her eyes. When she opens them, she appears to have gone out of a trance. She was back to her old self. She sighed deeply, wiping the tears from her face.

"It was about a year ago" Lindsay started "I was a CSI in Montana".

"You were married to a Peter Camden?" Danny asked.

"My college boyfriend. We were married for a year after I had Nathan. Got divorced. He moved to London. He never knew about Nathan's disappearance." Lindsay answered.

"Tell us about what happened." Mac asked.

"The last time I saw Nathan" Lindsay started, fighting back the tears once again, "I was fixing his backpack, his clothes. He was going to school for the first time the next day."

She paused to look at Danny. Danny was listening to her intently.

"I kissed him good night. I told him I loved him. Then I closed his bedroom door" Lindsay narrated. "The next day when I went to his room to wake him up for school, he was gone." She turns to Danny and holds his hand, as if she was in pain.

She took a deep breath "Bedroom window was shattered. CSIs found a strand of hair on his bed"

Lindsay quickly turns to Mac. "If we match the hair to Jerry Schroeder then we got him!"

"Adam's running the analysis as we speak" Mac says.

Danny takes a picture from a folder to show Lindsay. "Actually we were hoping to connect him to your son more closely. Perhaps you can identify him for us?"

Lindsay looks at the picture and then turns to Danny. She looked confused. "What did you say his name was?"Lindsay asked.

"Jerry Schroeder" she answered.

"This man isn't Jerry Schroeder" Lindsay says. "His name is Joseph Camden. My father-in-law".


	8. Chapter 8

The lab was in one of its eeriest moments --- it was oddly quiet. It was four in the morning and only a few lab coats paced to and from the halls. In his office, Danny sat in front of his Mac as if waiting for something ---- anything ---- to pop up, to give light to the Shane McCollough case.

The Shane McCollough case that has become the Jonathan Camden case.

He slouched in his chair as his computer monitor read "No Match".

He closed his eyes. "What now?" he thought.

The only viable suspect in his case is in a coma in the hospital.

A search of his house and belongings led them nowhere. The man almost had no possessions.

DNA on the hair found in Jonathan Camden's bed is Jerry Schroeder's --- or Joseph Camden, whatever his name is. But DNA on the broken window in Shane McCollough's house wasn't his. Came back unknown.

Danny felt like he was betraying Lindsay by closing his eyes for a moment. He hasn't slept in almost two days, since he found out about the boy Jonathan.

He was so tired.

He hears someone stirring beside him. Lindsay had taken a chair and sat beside him, not saying a word. She finally turns to him.

"You need to sleep" Lindsay said.

"I'll be fine" Danny said, a weak smile on his face.

"Mac told me to let you run this on your own" Lindsay said "But if there's anything I can do to help…."

"I want to ask you so many things…" Danny started.

"Hope they're all related to the case, though" Lindsay interrupted.

"As a victim. As a witness. I'm in the dark here, Lindsay" Danny continued. "Jerry…. Joseph…. His DNA matched the hair found on Jonathan's…."

"Nathan" Lindsay interrupted again. "I called him Nathan."

"Nathan's bed." Danny continued "But DNA on the broken window isn't his. We can tie him to your son's kidnap but not to Shane McCollough's."

"And this is the Shane McCollough case, not the Jonathan Camden case" Lindsay said.

"Not to me" Danny answered.

"Were you ever in disagreement with your father-in-law?" Danny went back to CSI-mode "Was Jonathan…. Nathan…. His favorite grandson? Did he spoil him?"

"I only met him once" Lindsay narrated. "Not so much as met but saw him from a distance. Peter was a musician, he played in a band in a popular bar in Bozeman. One night a man comes up to him, introduces himself as his father."

Lindsay paused. Danny was listening intently.

"Peter flipped, screamed at the old man. He had the bouncers take him out and beat him up. Never saw him again since. Later on Peter tells me that the man was the scumbag of a father that left him and his mom when he was still a baby".

"And you were married to Peter by then?" Danny asked.

"Yes. I was six months pregnant with Nathan" Lindsay answered.

"So you knew nothing of Schroeder? Not even a conversation?" Danny asked again.

"None" Lindsay answered.

Danny had almost given up. He rests his head on his table. Lindsay moves some of the case folders on the desk so Danny can sleep, but one of the folders fall on the floor. It was Shane McCollough's case folder.

"Who is this?" Lindsay asked, taking the picture of Shane McCollough with his mom.

Danny rubs his eyes and looks at the picture "The boy is Shane McCollough and the woman is…."

"Ella" Lindsay finished his sentence.

"You know Ella McCollough?" Danny asked, excited about this new information.

"Yes when she was still Ella Mowen" Lindsay continued "Before we hooked up, Peter dated her."

Lindsay looked at Danny, as if realizing something.

"She left for New York after she broke up with Peter. Rumor has it that she was pregnant."


	9. Chapter 9

On the search box, Hawkes typed the names of Jason Cook's and Craig Thomas' parents. Both women turned out to be single moms. Both women, at some point in their lives, spent some time in Montana.

"That's the connection" Hawkes said. "Peter Camden"

"Peter Camden's a busy man" Danny answered. "Elaine Cook and Brenda Thomas were both waitresses in the bar were Peter played. Both got pregnant about two, three months apart then left" He looks through Shane McCollough's case folder. "Ella McCollough sings at this bar called Eighth of May. Maybe she sang at Peter's bar too."

"And Lindsay?" Hawkes asked. "Montana CSI, a groupie for a band?"

"Let's just assume that Lindsay and Peter were together at some point, that's all that matters" Danny answers, obviously irritated.

"Didn't mean anything by it" Hawkes answered.

Danny sighs. "I'm sorry"

"So what is Joseph Camden doing stalking his son's exes?" Hawkes asked.

"He's looking for his grandson" Danny finally realizes.

"So all those boys were fathered by the same man?" Hawkes asked.

"Nope" Adam walks in. "Have I got a Christmas basket for you"

Danny and Hawkes turned to him as he started to talk.

"First item in the Christmas basket, DNA profiles of your lost boys. And Peter Camden's DNA profile"

"He's in the system?" Danny asked.

"He's in a band. Of course he's in the system. DUI." Adam answered.

"Anyway, DNA profile of Jason Cook, Craig Thomas and Jonathan Camden, no common alleles with Peter Camden"

Danny looked perplexed. "Not even Jonathan Camden?"

"But his DNA had common alleles with Shane McCollough's, the boy is his son" Adam continued. "Peter Camden, in turn, is definitely Jerry Schroeder's son".

"He found his grandson" Hawkes said.

"Yeah, but where the hell did he take him?" Danny pushes a chair, obviously angry. "And where is Peter Camden? His son is missing and he doesn't do anything about it?" Danny said.

"He's dead" Adam answered. "Item no.2. Peter Camden's death certificate. He moved to London to join another band. In one of their roadshows, they meet an accident. Peter was DOA."

"When did this happen?" Hawkes asked.

"October 2002" Adam answered.

Danny looks at Hawkes, thinking earnestly. "I think I get it now"

Danny runs off, leaving Hawkes and Adam, confused.


	10. Chapter 10

Danny was almost trembling with excitement. Finally. A Lead. A search of the insurance database showed that Peter Camden had taken an insurance policy for his only son.

He didn't have a name for his son. Not even a birth date. He didn't even say who the boy's mother was. He just knew that the boy was born in the year 2000.

Jason Cook, Craig Thomas, Jonathan Camden and Shane McCollough were all born in the same year. And all their mothers were involved with Peter Camden.

The insurance policy was worth one million dollars.

Danny sat on his chair in deep thought. "What am I missing?" he thought to himself.

He looked across the room and saw a box stuffed in a Ziploc bag. He wanted to bang his head on the wall for having left that out. "Of course!" Danny thought.

He hurried to the box. The package. The one that Jerry Schroeder brought to the McCollough house, the one he printed. He's never opened it.

Danny quickly put on his gloves and reached for the box, peeling the packing tape as gently yet as hurriedly as possible. In the box was a picture of Shane, blindfolded, on a bed. There's a window behind him, it was taken during the daytime. Danny took the picture and scanned it.

With his photo-enhancing software, he zoomed in on the window in the picture. It was a neon light sign.

"Eighth of May" Danny whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

Danny was back at the interrogation room. This time, at the opposite table wasn't a man but a woman.

Ella McCollough.

"I don't get it" Danny asked her. "What kind of mother would kidnap her own son?"

"What are you talking about?" Ella said.

Danny showed Ella the picture he got from the package. "Jerry Schroeder sent this picture to you. So you can show the authorities that your son has indeed been kidnapped. But the sign out the window is the neon light to the bar you sing in, Eighth of May."

"And that makes me a kidnapper?" Ella asked.

"The picture meant to show you that the boy was near, and that you could see him anytime" Danny continued "which made me suspicious of you".

Danny showed her another case folder.

"Blood on the broken glass window" Danny said. "It has common alleles with Shane. It wasn't a match to Jerry Schroeder. And it can't be Peter Camden because he's dead. It's your blood"

Ella sat there in silence, avoiding Danny's stare.

"Unless you start talking, I am going to tie you to the kidnaps of the other three boys, and that's enough to get you a life sentence" Danny shouted. "Where is the boy?"

"He's safe" Ella screamed back. "He's back in Montana, with my mother."

"You only get to cash the insurance policy if the boy ends up dead." Danny asked. "So why the elaborate setup for the kidnap?"

"It was Jerry's idea" Ella answered. "The kidnaps of the three boys gave us a precedent. After a while, we can assume the boy to be dead, just like the other three boys, then we can cash in the policy."

"Why couldn't Jerry do it? Why you?" Danny asked.

"He's gone weak" Ella said. "He only made it to the ledge, couldn't open the window. I had to finish the job"

Danny was almost in her face. "So you took those boys from their mothers so you can take Peter Camden's money?"

"I had nothing to do with those boys" Ella had started to cry. "I only knew of Jerry a few months ago. "

"So you stage your son's death so you can claim his money?" Danny asked "I don't get it, you're his mother, he's six years old. You can control his money. Why do you need to stage his death?"

Hawkes walks in with a folder in his hands. "I think I know why" he answered.

"Letters from Social Workers." Hawkes drops the folder on the table. "The state was going to take Shane away from you"

Ella looks at Hawkes with death in her eyes.

"Helen McCollough, your sister." Hawkes continued "When we told her of your possible involvement, she told us everything. You beat up your son"

"He was an evil boy, just like his father. He deserved to be punished" Ella mumbled.

"No, you do" Danny started. "The boy no longer belongs to you, Ella. Give us an address now."

Danny threw a piece of paper on the table. Just then his phone rings.

"Messer" he spoke to his phone "Damn it" he said as he listened intently. He turned off his phone and threw it to the wall, shattering it to pieces. Both Hawkes and Ella look at him, shocked.

"Joseph Schroeder is dead" Danny said.

Danny moved to Ella and made her stand, cuffed her hands behind her back "You're under arrest for the kidnap of Shane McCollough, Jason Cook, Craig Thomas and Jonathan Camden"

"No! I didn't take those boys!" Ella screamed and struggled. The police officers started to take her away.

As the uniforms led a still screaming Ella out of the interrogation room, Danny sat on the table. Hawkes only looked at him.


	12. Chapter 12

He stood there, in front of the apartment door. He didn't know whether to knock or to just leave. He had failed her. But he had to know how she was. He didn't care if she would hit him or push him away forever. All he wanted to know was that she was fine.

Danny finally knocks on the door.

Lindsay opens her apartment door. She stood there looking at him. After what Danny thought was an eternity, Lindsay finally gives him a faint smile.

"Come in" Lindsay said.

Danny went in the apartment but he couldn't step any further than the door. They both just stood there in silence.

"I'm sorry" Danny finally said.

"You did what you can" Lindsay tried to smile. "Who would've known that he was going to die?"

"Lindsay" Danny started.

"At least I know what happened to him, who took him, and why he was taken" Lindsay interrupted him "At least we have a starting point. A year ago we had nothing."

Lindsay took his hand and guided him to the couch so they can sit. Her touch somehow calmed him, made him feel that he was forgiven.

"I've contacted the lead CSI from Montana on your son's case, sent me a whole box of stuff, we're going to run this together" Danny said.

"Thank you" Lindsay said.

Lindsay looked at Danny's eyes. There were dark circles around them. His usually handsome stuble has grown to a recognizeable beard. She saw that he was so weak. She touched his face. Danny closed his eyes at her touch.

"I still have so many questions to ask you" Danny said.

"Peter was my friend. He saved my career. If Bozeman PD had known who Nathan's real father was, I would have lost my job" Lindsay started.

Danny only nodded his head.

"You must think badly of me now" Lindsay continued.

"Why?" Danny asked.

"You must think I'm that kind of a woman, have an affair with your married boss, get someone else to marry you to save face." Lindsay said. "I'm no longer the innocent country girl you thought I was"

Danny brushed the hair from her face. "If it's possible, I respect you more than I did then" he said "As a colleague. As a friend. You must have been a good mother"

Lindsay smiles.

"And this explains a lot." Danny continued "Why this…." he motions to the space between them "This… has never gone anywhere. You're afraid it would happen again"

Lindsay nods her head.

"I can never hurt you" Danny said.

Danny reached for his backpack. "I checked the evidence box Montana CSIs sent me, processed everything. There's one item I think we can let go of"

It was a boy's red baseball cap. Lindsay started to tear up.

"Red Sox fan, eh" Danny started. "He would've hated me"

Lindsay looked up to Danny "No" she said "he would've loved you".

Danny held her in his arms until they both fell asleep.

-0-0-0

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Your reviews have been so great. Thanks so much. But this is my first completed --- perhaps full episode-type --- story so if there are loopholes to the storyline, please feel free to point them out! Hope you guys had fun reading as I had fun writing. More to come:-)


End file.
